My Dream Bookstore - the Manifesto Library

I am a sucker for a good local bookstore and Livraria Lello is absolutely one of the most beautiful bookstores I’ve ever been to.

Even when packed with tourists, it’s magical and inspiring and makes you buy a Spanish copy of Don Quixote even though it’s roughly 25 pounds and your Spanish reading level is more “Dr. Seuss”.

It’s now even more spectacular, thanks to Dua Lipa, because it contains the Manifesto Library. A library featuring books that have been banned or challenged around the world.

In a statement printed on the wall, Lipa writes, “This library is a shrine to books that have disappeared, to authors whose courage unmasks structures of power and control, and to readers who refuse to be told what book they are allowed.”

The permanent collection features books that were banned, censored, or challenged around the world and is organized into four categories: books that challenge power, resist censorship, and amplify the voices that others seek to silence.

Dua Lipa has long been an advocate for reading - she launched a book club back in 2023 as a part of her Service95 platform and interviewed authors like Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale) and Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist).

The collection contains all the classic targets, from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Toni Morrison’s Beloved to more recently banned titles like Alexei Navalny’s Patriot and Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. Anne Frank’s Diary and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, reappear around the room in various editions and different languages. A physical reminder that the fight for intellectual and creative freedom is worldwide.

FYI - you have to buy a tivcket to enter but your ticket includes €15 credit towards any book purchase, so make Dua proud ;)

https://livrarialello.pt/

SIDE NOTE:

Denver used to have a similar bookstore - the Spring Cafe, operated under the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning. It was a cafe and bookstore run by immigrants and refugees in Denver. Providing job training and opportunitities to connect CO legislators with the people most impacted by their decisions.

The Spring Cafe unfortunately closed in 2019 due to the lack of people immigrating to the US under changes in administration.

You can still support the Spring Institute's work in Denver here. Maybe we can bring the Spring Cafe back to life one day!

“The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water.” - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra